U.S. patent number 4,040,195 [Application Number 05/677,279] was granted by the patent office on 1977-08-09 for page turner apparatus.
This patent grant is currently assigned to Donald C. Delich. Invention is credited to James P. Claypool, Gerrit Hoogenraad.
United States Patent |
4,040,195 |
Claypool , et al. |
August 9, 1977 |
Page turner apparatus
Abstract
Page turner apparatus that includes a book support having a
transverse ledge and a top flange, a slide plate on the support for
transverse movement, the slide plate having a plurality of parallel
slots for the pages to be turned extended therethrough, and
operable mechanism for mounting the slide plate and selectively
moving the slide plate to turn a page. The operable mechanism of
each of the first and third embodiments includes a toothed rack
slidably mounted on a slide rod and attached to the slide plate,
and a foot pedal operated cable for selectively moving the rack in
a page turning direction. In the second embodiment the operable
mechanism includes a motor for driving a rod having a threaded
portion cooperating with the threaded portion of a slide plate
mounting block for transversely moving said block.
Inventors: |
Claypool; James P.
(Minneapolis, MN), Hoogenraad; Gerrit (Minnesota Lake,
MN) |
Assignee: |
Delich; Donald C. (Minneapolis,
MN)
|
Family
ID: |
24718058 |
Appl.
No.: |
05/677,279 |
Filed: |
April 15, 1976 |
Current U.S.
Class: |
40/341; 84/487;
40/342; 84/517 |
Current CPC
Class: |
B42D
9/04 (20130101) |
Current International
Class: |
B42D
9/04 (20060101); B42D 9/00 (20060101); B41J
011/38 () |
Field of
Search: |
;40/341,342,343
;84/486-518 |
References Cited
[Referenced By]
U.S. Patent Documents
Primary Examiner: Wright, Jr.; Ernest T.
Assistant Examiner: Heinz; A.
Attorney, Agent or Firm: Dugger, Johnson & Westman
Claims
What is claimed is:
1. Page turner apparatus comprising a base for supporting a book in
an open condition, a slide member for engaging and successively
turning pages in the book; first means for mounting the slide
member for translating movement on the base the slide member
including a plurality of longitudinally extending, generally
parallel finger portions for having a page extended between each
adjacent pair of finger portions; said finger portions having first
end portions; and second means joined to said first end portions of
said finger portions for retaining the finger portions generally
parallel and to simultaneously translate all of the finger portions
as the slide member is moved to turn a page.
2. The apparatus of claim 1 further characterized in that the
second means is fixedly joined to the first end portions.
3. The apparatus of claim 2 further characterized in that the first
means includes a transversely elongated rod rotatably mounted on
the base and having a transversely elongated threaded portion, a
mounting block mounted on said rod and having threads threadingly
engaging the rod to transversely move the block as the rod is
rotated relative thereto, said block mounting the slide member to
move it therewith, operable motor means drivingly connected to the
rod, and switch means for selectively operating the motor
means.
4. The apparatus of claim 2 further characterized in that said
slide member comprises a generally flat, transparent plastic plate
having slotted cutouts to define said finger portions and said
second means.
5. The apparatus of claim 2 further characterized in that said
first means comprises a transversely elongated rack mounted on said
second means for transversely moving the slide member, a
transversely elongated slide rod mounted on the base for slidably
mounting the rack and operable means for selectively moving the
rack transversely in one direction a distance to turn a page.
6. The apparatus of claim 5 further characterized in that the rack
has a plurality of adjacent teeth that includes more than one tooth
and that the operable means includes means for successively
engaging one tooth after the other to translate the rack to turn
pages.
7. The apparatus of claim 6 further characterized in that the last
mentioned means includes a foot for abuttingly engaging a tooth,
and means for generally reciprocally moving the foot between a
retracted position and a second position spaced from the retracted
position by a distance the foot moves the rack whereby the rack
moves the slide member to turn one page as the foot is moved from
its retracted position to its second position, and that there is
provided stop means for resiliently engaging a rack tooth to block
movement of the rack in a direction opposite said one direction as
the foot is moved from its second position to its retracted
position.
8. The apparatus of claim 6 further characterized in that the last
mentioned means includes a cable having a cable sheath that has a
first end portion and means for attaching the sheath first end
portion to the base on the same side thereof as the slide
member.
9. The apparatus of claim 6 further characterized in that the last
mentioned means includes a cable having a cable sheath that has a
first end portion, a wire slidably extended in the sheath and
having a first end portion and a foot mounted on the wire first end
portion, and a cable mount for attaching the cable sheath first end
portion to the base on the side opposite the slide plate, said base
having a slot for the foot to extend through to engage the rack
teeth.
10. The apparatus of claim 6 further characterized in that the
slide member comprises a transparent, flat plastic plate having
longitudinally elongated cutouts defining said finger portions and
the second means; said teeth being linearly aligned and, each tooth
being of a transverse dimension that is substantially the same as
the corresponding dimension of one finger plus one cutout.
11. Page turner apparatus comprising a base for supporting a book
in an open condition, several parallel longitudinally elongated
finger portions for having a page extended between each adjacent
pair of finger portions, first means fixedly joined to the finger
portions to retain the finger portions in general parallel
relationship, and second means for mounting the first means on the
base and for transversely moving the first means to simultaneously
move the finger portions to turn a page, the second means
comprising third means for mounting the first means and moving the
first means therewith, a transversely elongated rod mounting the
third means for transverse movement, and fourth means for mounting
the rod on the base.
12. The apparatus of claim 11 further characterized in that the
fourth means mounts the rod for rotation, that the rod has a
threaded portion, that the third means includes means mounted on
the threaded portion for moving the first means transversely as the
rod is rotated and that the second means includes operable means
for selectively rotating the rod.
13. The apparatus of claim 11 further characterized in that the
third means includes a transversely elongated rack having a
plurality of teeth that includes more than one tooth, and that the
second means includes operable means for engaging a rack tooth to
selectively move the rack transversely relative the rod.
Description
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
Apparatus for turning pages of a book.
In prior art page turners that have page turner portions
interleaved between the pages, for example, see U.S. Pat. Nos.
1,217,840; 1,735,166 and 3,064,518, there are provided a relatively
large number of parts that are movable individually relative one
another. The provision of a relatively large number of parts
results in a page being of a more complex construction than
desired. In other prior art page turners it is possible for a pad
that engages a page to be turned to slip relative at least a
portion of a page to be turned and as a result not function
properly. In order to overcome problems such as the above, as well
as others, this invention has been made.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
Page turner apparatus that includes a support for supporting a book
in an open condition, a slide member having a plurality of bar
portions extendable between pages to be turned, and operable
mechanism for mounting the slide member and transversely
translating the slide member to turn pages of the book.
One of the objects of this invention is to provide new and novel
mechanism for pages of a book, and in particular for turning pages
of sheet music during the course of playing music. Another object
of this invention is to provide new and novel mechanism for turning
pages of a book that is operable by other than the hands of the
user, to, for example, leave the hands of a player free to play
music. A further object of this invention is to provide new and
novel means that is partially extendable between a plurality of
book pages for successively turning one page after another as it is
translated in one direction. An additional object of this invention
is to provide a new and novel page turner that is of a relatively
simple construction and has only a few moving parts.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
FIG. 1 shows a portion of the apparatus of the first embodiment of
the invention in plan, and the foot pedal switch in vertical cross
section, portions of the apparatus being broken away;
FIG. 2 is a fragmentary end view generally taken along the line and
in the direction of the arrows 2--2 of FIG. 1;
FIG. 3 is a fragmentary transverse cross-sectional view generally
taken along the line and in the direction of the arrows 3--3 of
FIG. 1 to more fully illustrate the relationship of the pages to
the slide member prior to the movement of the slide member for
turning the first page;
FIG. 4 is a fragmentary plan view of the second embodiment of this
invention, a portion being diagrammatically shown;
FIG. 5 is a fragmentary plan view of the third embodiment of this
invention that is generally taken along the line and in the
direction of the arrows 5--5 of FIG. 6;
FIG. 6 is a fragmentary transverse cross-sectional view generally
taken along the line and in the direction of the arrows 6--6 of
FIG. 7; and
FIG. 7 is a fragmentary view that is generally taken along the line
and in the direction of the arrows 7--7 of FIG. 5.
Referring now to FIGS. 1-3, the first embodiment of the apparatus
of this invention, generally designated 10, includes a base or
support 11 which may be a flat plate for supporting a book or the
like in an open condition. Advantageously, the support 11 is
mounted on a stand (not shown) or other suitable structure for
holding the support at an angle relative the horizontal that is
convenient for the user. A top transverse flange 12 is joined to
the upper edge of the support to extend outwardly from the front
surface of the support while a transversely elongated ledge 13 is
joined to the support to extend outwardly therefrom at a location
adjacent the bottom of the support but spaced therefrom.
Transversely spaced blocks 14 are mounted on the support below the
ledge, the blocks mounting a transversely elongated slide rod 15.
The opposite ends of a transversely elongated rack 16 mount blocks
22, the blocks 22 being slidably mounted on the slide rod 15. The
rack has a plurality of teeth, teeth 17-21 being illustrated. The
lower edge portion of a slide plate, generally designated 25 and
preferably of clear or transparent plastic, is mounted by the rack
such that the slide plate extends away from the rack in a direction
opposite the opening of the rack teeth. The under surface of the
slide plate bears against the edges of the ledge and the flange 12
that are remote from the front surface of the support whereby the
slide plate extends substantially parallel to the front surface of
the support. The slide plate has a plurality of vertically
elongated slots, slots 26-30 being illustrated. The vertical length
of each of the slots is substantially greater than the length of
the pages of the book to be read. Additionally, the slots are of a
length to extend closely adjacent the ledge 13. The slots provide
finger or bar portions 52-57 with the bar portion 52 being between
the slot 26 and the left hand edge of the slide plate as
illustrated in FIG. 1, and bar portion 57 being provided between
slot 30 and the right hand edge of the slide plate. Each of the
finger portions has a first end portion 25a fixedly joined to slide
plate portion 25b. It is to be understood that if the page turner
apparatus is to be used for turning more than six pages such as per
the embodiment illustrated in FIGS. 1-3, then additional slots and
rack teeth would be provided.
For operating the rack to move in the direction of the arrow 68
there is provided a foot pedal switch, generally designated 40. The
switch includes a foot operated plate 39 that has an intermediate
portion pivotally connected at 43 to a frame 44. One end of the
plate includes an elongated slot 32 through which the rigid sheath
end portion 34a of a cable 34 is extended. The enlarged diameter
flange of a member 38 that is attached to the sheath end portion of
the cable abuts against the under surface of the plate 39 and a nut
37 is threaded on member 38 to abut against the opposite surface of
the plate to permit limited slidable movement of the rigid sheath
end portion of the cable relative the plate and at the same time
precludes the sheath end portion moving away from the plate. The
opposite end portion of the cable sheath extends through a mounting
block 33 which is mounted on the support 11 below the rack.
Slidably extended through the sheath 34a is a cable wire 35, the
one end portion of the wire that extends outwardly of the said
opposite end portion of the cable sheath mounting a resilient foot
36. The opposite end portion of the wire is attached to a plunger
45, the plunger extending through a slot 47 in a mount 48. The
mount 48 is mounted on the base portion of the frame 44. The head
end portion 46 of the plunger is located between the web of the
mount and the base of the frame to permit limited movement of the
plunger in a vertical direction and along the length of the slot
while retaining the head end portion of the plunger between the
mount web and the frame base. The plunger 45 is slidably extended
into the rigid cable sheath end portion and as the plate 39 is
pivoted in the direction of the arrow 70, the foot 36 is moved
toward the rack. A stop wire 50 is mounted by the block 33 to abut
against the adjacent rack tooth surface that extends perpendicular
to the slide rod to prevent the rack moving in the direction of the
arrow opposite 68 when the foot 36 is being retracted with
reference to the rack.
In using the apparatus of the first embodiment invention, at least
the pages of the book to be turned are slid between the web of a
bail 60 that is attached to the support and the top surface of the
support to a position that the binding of the book is closely
adjacent the bail. Now, with the slide plate in the position
illustrated in FIG. 1 (right hand side of the support),
advantageously the slide plate is pivoted about the slide rod 15 in
the direction of the arrow 71 a limited amount so as to be spaced
from the top flange 12. This facilitates positioning the pages to
be turned relative the slide plate for extending other than the
first page to be turned through the slide plate slots. With
reference thereto, it is to be mentioned that the slide plate slots
are of lengths sufficiently greater than the length of the pages to
permit extending the pages through the slots even when the slide
plate is pivoted. That is, page 67 is positioned so that it
underlies bar portions 52-56 from the binding to slot 30 and then
is extended through slot 30 to overlap bar portion 57; the next to
last page to be turned, page 66, underlies bar portions 52-55 and
is extended through slot 29 to overlie bar portions 56, 57, etc,
with the first page 62 to be turned extending from the binding and
in overlying relationship to bar portions 52-57. Thereafter, the
slide plate is pivoted back to abut against flange 12 and the pages
62-67 to be turned are positioned relative the slide plate such as
shown in FIG. 3 while the rack is located such as illustrated in
FIG. 1. Now upon the pivoting the foot plate in the direction of
the arrow 70, the cable wire 35 is moved to move foot 36 in the
direction of the arrow 69 to bring foot 36 into abutting engagement
with the edge that extends perpendicular to the slide rod 15 that
is to the left of tooth 17 as seen in FIG. 1. Further movement of
the foot 36 in the direction of the arrow 69 results in the rack
and the structure connected thereto being transversely moved in the
direction of the arrow 68 for a distance sufficiently great that
bar portion 52 is moved from the right side of bail 60 to be
located on the left of bail 60 and thereabove while the edge of bar
portion 53 that in part defines slot 27 is still located to the
right of bail 60. As a result, only page 62 is turned. As the rack
is moved in the direction of arrow 68, the end of the stop 50
remote from mount 33 slides over the inclined surface of tooth 17
and then resiliently snaps to a position to be closely adjacent or
abut against the surface of tooth 17 that extends perpendicular to
the slide rod.
Upon moving the foot plate in the direction opposite arrow 70, if
the foot 36 bears against the inclined tooth surface of tooth 17 to
tend to retract it (move rack in the direction opposite arrow 68),
the aforementioned perpendicular edge of tooth 17 abuts against
stop 50 whereby the rack is precluded from moving in the direction
opposite arrow 68 as the foot is retracted. Now, upon again
pivoting plate 39 in the direction of the arrow 70, the foot 36
moves into abutting engagement with the surface of tooth 18 that
extends perpendicular to the slide rod to move the rack in the
direction of the arrow, the stop wires 50 being pushed out of the
way of the rack by inclined surface of the tooth 18 and thence
snapping back to abut against the edge of tooth 18 that extends
perpendicular to the slide rod upon the slide plate being moved to
a position that page 63 is turned.
After all the pages have been positioned relative the slide plate
to be turned have been turned, the end of the stop wire 50 remote
from block 33 may be manually forced outwardly from the rack to
permit the rack being slid back to the position of FIG. 1, and the
rack may be pivoted to a position facilitating the extension of the
next group of pages to be turned through the slots as previously
described.
Referring now to FIG. 4, the second embodiment of the invention,
generally designated 80, includes a support 11, a top flange (not
shown), a ledge 13, a slide plate 25, and blocks 14 that are of the
same construction as described with reference to the first
embodiment. However, instead of the blocks 14 mounting the slide
rod, said blocks rotatably mount an elongated rod 81 having a
threaded portion 81a. The threaded portion 81a extends through a
portion of a rack or slide plate mounting member 82 that has
threads that cooperate with rod portion 81a for transversely moving
the slide plate as the rod 81 is rotated. With reference thereto
when the rod is rotated in a direction for moving the block in the
direction of arrow 68, the slide plate is urged to pivot in a
direction to abut against ledge 13 rather than in the opposite
direction. The slide plate mount 82 is attached to the end portion
of the slide plate 25 that is adjacent ledge 13.
For rotating the rod 81, a motor 84 is mounted on the support and
through a suitable gear train 83, is drivingly connected to the rod
81. A foot switch 86 is connected to suitable control mechanism 85
for operating the motor. The control mechanism may be of a nature
that the motor continues to operate until the foot switch is
operated to an off position, or through suitable conventional
control mechanism such as indicated in U.S. Pat. No. 2,755,580 may
deenergize the motor upon the motor turning the rod sufficiently
that one page is turned. If such control mechanism is provided,
then it would be necessary to operate the switch 86 to an "on"
position and subsequently back to an "off" position before
operating the switch again to an "on" for turning another page.
Since the operator of the second embodiment is the same as for the
first embodiment other than the mechanism for moving the slide
plate mount or rack, the use thereof will not be further set
forth.
Referring now to FIGS. 5-7, the third embodiment of this invention,
generally designated 100, includes a book support 101 having a
ledge 102 extending outwardly of the front surface of the support.
The upper edge portion of the support is extended into the slots
104a of generally U-shaped, transversely spaced slide blocks 104
whereby the slide blocks may be slid along the top edge of the
support. Blocks 104 are joined to the under surface of the upper
edge portion of the slide plate 103 whereby when support 101 is
extended into the slots 104a, said block and the ledge 102
supporting the slide plate in generally parallel relationship to
the front surface of the support. A rack 108 is joined to the under
surface of the upper edge portion of the slide plate at a location
adjacent the slide blocks to be located between the top edge of the
support and the ledge 102. The rack 108 is of the same construction
as rack 16; however, rack 108 is mounted such that the teeth open
to the under surface of the support.
The slide plate includes a plurality of elongated slots 105 that
define bar portions 106 such as described with reference to slots
26-30 and bar portions 52-57 of the first embodiment. Each of the
bar portions (finger portions) 106 has a first end portion 106a
fixedly joined to slide plate portion 106b.
For operating the rack 108, there is provided foot pedal mechanism
40 of the same construction described with reference to the first
embodiment. However, the end portion of the cable remote from the
foot pedal is mounted by a cable mounting block 110 that is
attached to the back surface of the support 101. The support has an
elongated slot 111 that opens to the rack whereby stop wire 50
extends through slot 111 to abut against the rack teeth, and the
foot 36 is movable through the slot 111 for engaging the rack teeth
to move the rack 108 in a manner described with reference to the
rack 16.
Even though the apparatus of this invention is particularly usable
by musicians wherein they would require an hour or more to play
6-10 pages of music, it is to be understood that the apparatus can
also be used for physically incapacitated persons suffering
paralysis or incapacities. In such a case, in place of a foot
switch, an appropriate switch that can be operated by other
portions of the body that are subject to voluntary movement can be
utilized in place of the switch described herein. Additionally, it
is to be understood that the slide plate may be provided with a
greater number of slots than that illustrated whereby the page
turner may be used for turning a greater number of pages; the limit
on the number of pages that can be turned depending upon the width
of the pages. Additionally, it is to be understood that it is not
essential that the slide plate be provided with the upper portion
joining the bar portions 52-57 as illustrated in FIG. 1 or a lower
portion of FIG. 5.
As an example of one embodiment of the invention, but not as a
limitation thereon, the transverse width of each of the slots, and
each of the bar portions may be approximately one/half inch; and
the height of the ledge approximately one/half inch. With such an
embodiment, the spacing of adjacent surfaces of the teeth that
extend perpendicular to the slide rod would be twice the width of
the slot.
* * * * *